22 Container Gardens That Will Make You Want to Start Gardening
A potted salad garden
Credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo
To grow vegetables in containers, look for varieties with words like bush, baby, dwarf, tiny, midget, and patio in their names. They are bred to be compact.
Credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo
Before heading to the nursery, study the area you’ve picked for your container garden―is it sunny? shady?―and then find plants that will flourish in those conditions.
Credit: Richard Felber
Terra-cotta pots are ideal for container plants because their porous walls let air and water move easily through, so roots grow healthily.
Credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo
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An assortment of herbs can be planted in one pot, so long as their care requirements are compatible.
Credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo
Potted plants flanking an entry door are warm and welcoming.
Credit: Aimee Herring
Place a large pot in the center of a display, accented with smaller pots for balance.
Credit: Richard Felber
Create a “centerpiece” for your porch by grouping varieties of the same species planted in similar pots.
Credit: Richard Felber
Matching pots planted with ornamental grass lend drama to a driveway or path.
Credit: Richard Felber
Use potted plants to define an outdoor space: Here, they separate patio from lawn.
Credit: Richard Felber
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Ceramic pots are porous, allowing roots to breathe, and a glazed finish helps conserve moisture.
Credit: Mark Lund
Mounted plants cheer up a bare wall. Hang an even number for a formal look, an odd number for a more relaxed feel.
Credit: Richard Felber
For an especially easy hanging garden, try mini petunias: They never need deadheading, and they thrive in sun or a mix of sun and shade.
Credit: Richard Felber
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An old birdbath makes a perfect new home for shallow-rooted succulents.
Credit: Beatriz Da Costa
Create an oasis in your yard by arranging potted plants into a sheltering screen.
Credit: Minh & Wass
When potting ivy, make sure the containers have enough depth to allow for proper drainage.
Credit: Mark Lund
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During the winter, you can force bulbs to bloom indoors (like the Christmas Pearl grape hyacinths shown here), then replant outside come spring.
Credit: Ellen Silverman
Pungently fragrant paperwhite narcissus are easy to coax into bloom indoors. Use tall containers with no drainage holes.
Credit: Ellen Silverman
A terrarium―which lets greens live in a self-sufficient environment―is a no-fuss way to garden.
Credit: Lisa Hubbard
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A humidity-loving tropical houseplant, such as a maidenhair fern or a flame violet, will thrive in a bell-jar terrarium.
Credit: Lisa Hubbard
Planted in a ceramic pitcher (drilled to add drainage holes), purple shamrock makes the tiniest indoor container garden.
Credit: Ellen Silverman
A tangle of roots exposed in a glass cylinder can be just as eye-catching as the leaves above.
Credit: Wendell T. Webber
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Always empty saucers after you water plants: Letting pots sit in water can damage roots.
Credit: Ngoc Minh Ngo